ALBANY – The City of Albany, NY, is thrilled to announce that our community is one of the selected 24 cities to participate in the Cities Forward program, a collaborative initiative between the U.S. Department of State, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, Resilient Cities Catalyst, and the Institute of the Americas. Launched at the Cities Summit of the Americas, this program is dedicated to assisting Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and U.S. cities in creating sustainable, inclusive, and resilient futures through project consultation, co-design, and knowledge sharing.
With a strong response of 129 applications for just 24 openings from cities across the Americas, we are proud to participate in this program focused on urban sustainability, resilience, and inclusion. We are also pleased to share our experiences and solutions with other cities during the Cities Forward Academy at the final phase of the program in 2025.
We are excited to connect with the other selected cities:
• Ambato, Ecuador + Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Cali, Colombia + Baltimore, Maryland
• Cartagena, Colombia + Denver, Colorado
• Fortaleza, Brazil + Hawai`i County, Hawai`i
• Freeport, Bahamas + Coral Springs, Florida
• Guatemala City, Guatemala + Dallas, Texas
• Hermosillo, México + Dubuque, Iowa
• Manaus, Brazil + Albany, New York
• Mérida, México + Austin & Travis County, Texas
• Montego Bay, Jamaica + Hoboken, New Jersey
• Renca, Chile + Evanston, Illinois
• Rosario, Argentina + Chattanooga, Tennessee
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said, "Albany leads in our commitment to sustainability and being part of the Cities Forward cohort is another testament to our ongoing efforts to combatting climate change and improving our residents' quality of life in every neighborhood. We have converted all 10,000 streetlights to LEDs, 100% of the electricity purchased by city operations is generated from renewable sources, and we have committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050, but we know there is even more we can do. The Cities Forward program is connecting us with municipalities and organizations from across the globe who are helping us update our Climate Action Plan and learn about how we can be even more intentional as we plant more trees, install more EV chargers, expand our residential composting program, replace our lead services, and continue prioritizing our climate justice communities."
"We are thrilled to collaborate with these cities and tap into their ingenuity and creativity," stated Angie Fyfe, ICLEI USA Executive Director. "By bringing together local expertise and global perspectives, we can craft innovative, inclusive sustainable solutions that will have a lasting impact across the world.”
The City of Albany looks forward to working closely with Manaus, Brazil, to build equitable and inclusive economic opportunities, strengthen sustainability, and promote a healthy environment for all. For more information, visit https://icleiusa.org/cities-forward
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About ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability
ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) is the first and largest global network of more than 2,500 local and regional governments devoted to solving the world's most intractable sustainability challenges. The worldwide network is active in 125+ countries, focused on influencing sustainability policies and driving local action across five key pathways: low emissions, resilient, equitable, people-centered, nature-based, and circular development.
About Resilient Cities Catalyst
Resilient Cities Catalyst is a nonprofit, founded by members of the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) leadership team in 2019 to drive catalytic change to help partners solve their most pressing challenges. Building on the pioneering legacy of 100RC, and in partnership with a community of urban resilience actors, RCC is helping cities build the capacities and partnerships needed to understand, prioritize and concretely address their risks and chronic stresses as they pursue their strategic goals or recover from a crisis.
About Institute of the Americas
The Institute of the Americas (IOA) is a non-partisan, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to be a catalyst for promoting economic development and integration, emphasizing the role of the private sector, as a means to improve the economic and social well-being of the people of the Americas. Throughout our 40-year history, the IOA has convened events of regional importance in an effort to support our mission of promoting better understanding and thought-leadership, surrounding critical issues in energy, climate change and economic development.